Articles on: AI Setup & Follow-Ups

How to Set AI Follow Ups in LeadTruffle

📝 Set up automated follow-ups so the AI re-engages leads who go quiet — across SMS, email, Yelp, and Thumbtack.



Table of contents




What follow-ups are


A follow-up is a message the AI sends when a lead goes quiet. If a contact stops replying for a set amount of time, LeadTruffle automatically reaches back out to keep the conversation alive.


This is different from the first message the AI sends when a lead initially comes in — that's your AI messaging. Follow-ups kick in later, once the lead has stopped responding for an hour, six hours, eight hours, or whatever cadence you set.


You'll find everything under Re-engage → Follow-Up Settings: https://app.leadtruffle.com/follow-up-settings




Follow-ups and human takeover


If a conversation is switched to human takeover (manual mode), the AI won't send any messages — including follow-ups. If you take over a conversation to reply yourself, switch the AI back on when you're done so follow-ups can resume.


For more on switching between AI and manual replies, see How to use human takeover in LeadTruffle.



How follow-ups apply by channel


Follow-ups are organized by channel, not by individual lead source. There are four settings:


Setting

Applies to

SMS

Anywhere you send text — website texting, miss-call textback, Angi, and any custom lead source that uses SMS (e.g. Modernize)

Email

Any email send across your lead sources, plus Google LSA (it's an email-based integration)

Yelp

Yelp in-app messaging

Thumbtack

Thumbtack in-app messaging


A few things to keep in mind:


  • The SMS cadence is not per channel — one cadence applies to every text-based lead source you have.
  • The SMS setting includes a toggle for your text lead types, such as website texting and miss-call textback leads.
  • Email follow-ups also cover Google LSA, since LSA runs on email behind the scenes.



Set your follow-up cadence


Each channel lets you control how long to wait before each follow-up.


  1. Open the channel you want to configure (SMS, Email, Yelp, or Thumbtack).
  2. Set your first follow-up timing — how long after the lead's last reply the AI should reach back out (for example, 30 minutes).
  3. Set the timing for each additional follow-up (for example, 2 hours 30 minutes, then 5 hours).


Text is limited to 3 follow-ups. As a best practice, don't over-text leads — too many messages can prompt them to reply STOP, mark you as spam, and hurt your carrier reputation. If someone hasn't responded after 3 follow-ups over a day or two, it's best to stop there.




Customize what the AI says


For each follow-up step, you can decide how much control to hand the AI:


  • Leave it blank — the AI reads the conversation and writes a contextual follow-up on its own. If a lead wrote in about a broken toilet, it might say: "Hey, do you still need help with that broken toilet?"
  • Give it direction — add a note like "In this follow-up, mention we can come out tomorrow," and the AI will work that into a natural message.
  • Write it word-for-word — type the exact message you want sent, e.g. "[Name], we can come tomorrow as early as 8 a.m." — and the AI will send it exactly as written.


You can mix and match per step — set a specific message on the first follow-up, then let the AI handle the rest on its own.




Activate each follow-up


Setting a cadence isn't enough on its own — make sure each follow-up step is toggled active. Any step that isn't activated won't send.



When follow-ups send (and when they don't)


A follow-up will send when


  • The lead source is connected and follow-ups are turned on
  • The lead has not replied since the last message
  • The AI still needs to collect more lead details
  • The follow-up time has arrived


What "AI data collection" means here


Learn more about how AI Data Collection works: AI Data Collection vs Lead Status: What's The Difference?


The AI tries to collect whatever your prompt asks for — things like name, phone, service type, city, best time for service, or any other question you've included. Your prompt controls the list.


After each AI reply, LeadTruffle checks whether all the needed details have been gathered. Once it decides the conversation is complete, the lead is marked done and follow-ups stop automatically.


A follow-up will not send when


  • The lead has already replied
  • The AI thinks all the needed details have been collected
  • The lead is marked closed or lost
  • That same follow-up has already been sent


Quiet hours can delay SMS send time


If quiet hours are enabled, any SMS follow-up that would send between 8:00 PM and 8:00 AM in your company time zone is held until 8:00 AM. Follow-ups sent via email, Yelp messaging, Google LSA, Thumbtack, or any other channel are not affected.


Each channel needs its own setup


  • SMS follow-ups require active texting on your account
  • Email follow-ups require the email inbox to be set up
  • Yelp and Thumbtack follow-ups require those integrations to be connected and turned on



Troubleshooting


I don't see SMS as an option.


This usually means your account doesn't have a 10DLC registration yet. 10DLC (the carrier registration required to send business text messages) is available starting on the Growth plan.



Need help? Contact us at support@leadtruffle.com or message the team via the chat on this article or in-app.

Updated on: 08/06/2026

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